The Lady of the Palace and Xiao Yuan nodded. The former said, "The main quest remains unchanged—our task is to eliminate the Zheng family." Xiao Yuan replied, "Now the main quest has shifted to defending the Southern Dynasty, and the side quest is the same as the Lady of the Palace's." As the副本 progressed, the team's objectives became increasingly aligned—something Zhang Yuanqing had anticipated. Both Xiao Yuan and the Lady of the Palace belonged to the same faction and held positions of authority, unlike the Saints who could leave midway. In the end, the only adversaries remained the Zheng family, the Grand Master, and the Northern Dynasty. Zhang Yuanqing rested his elbow on the table, holding up the small megaphone, "By now, everyone's quest has converged. There's no point in delaying further—the city of Linxia is fast losing its defenses. My plan is to launch a surprise attack on the Zheng family tonight." As a scout, Guan Ya furrowed her brows, "How do you know Linxia is about to fall?" Yuan Shi's tone and expression were both confident. Zhang Yuanqing glanced at her and spoke with the tone of a man who expected no questions from women, "When the Star Officials act, you don He glanced around at the group and said, "Let's begin formulating our battle plan." The spirits of Guan Ya, Hong Jiege, Xie Lingxi, Jiang Jingwei, Sun Miao-miao, and the Queen were instantly lifted, and they entered full operational conference mode. Zhang Yuanqing spoke in a steady tone: "To successfully eliminate the Zheng family, we must first exclude their faction's city garrison and the Imperial City Command from being able to respond in time—ensuring they cannot reach the Zheng family for rescue. "Tonight, the members of the Qinglong Guild will set fires along Guangping Street, Xiguang Street, and Chengle Street in the inner city, drawing the attention of a portion of the city garrison. The Yang family's forces will quietly exit the city during the day and, at night, will feign an attack by the Northern Dynasty army. I will have the refugees outside the city join in, shouting that the Northern forces are launching an assault, thus attracting even more city garrison troops. "As for the Imperial City Command's forces, members of the royal family will intervene to block their movement, confining them within the palace and buying us valuable time." Guangping Street, Xiguang Xie Lingxi furrowed her brow, saying, "The members of the Qinglong Sect have set fire to the inner city? Isn't that equivalent to sending them to their deaths?" "Exactly sending them to their deaths," Zhang Yuanqing said, his expression impassive, his voice low. "Voluntarily." Xie Lingxi pressed her lips, choosing not to press further. Zhang Yuanqing continued, "The crucial next step is what truly matters. Based on my calculations, we must kill Zheng Wenhan within the next minute—otherwise, the entire plan will collapse. "Guanyá, please present your investigation report to everyone." Guanyá nodded and took over the conversation: "According to my investigation, Zheng Wenhan's household hosts numerous guest scholars, including three peak immortals and nine ordinary immortals. Recently, he has strengthened the defenses of his estate, dispatching military units from both the city garrison and the Imperial City Office to guard it. The commanders of these two units are peak immortals." "Five peak immortals and nine ordinary immortals. If there are any additional ordinary immortals among the dispatched troops, the total number of immortals at Zheng's household will exceed fifteen." Red Chicken Brother scanned his teammates one by one, silently calculating in his mind, and his brows relaxed as he said, "We have three peak Sages—Yuan Shi, Xiao Yuan, and Gong Master—six ordinary Sages, plus the top talents from Qinglong Clan. That doesn't fall short of Zheng Family's strength." Zhang Yuanqing shook his head: "No, I won't join tonight's hunting operation. I'll stay at Tianji Building to hold the disciples of the Grand Abbot in check." Only then did Red Chicken Brother remember about Tianji Building, and he groaned, "If you're not here, how can we win?" His initial assessment had been rough—when calculated more precisely, both Level 4 and Level 5 Sages are ordinary Sages. Still, a Level 5 Sage can easily overpower a Level 4 Sage, even if not by sweeping them away like autumn vegetables. After all, not every Sage is Yuan Shi Tianzun, capable of single-handedly facing several peers or even stepping up to challenge those above their level. Xie Lingxi and Queen are Level 4 initial Sages, and their role is mostly supportive. The truly capable ones are actually Guan Ya, Sun Miao Miao, Jiang Jingwei, and him. As for the senior Sovereigns of Qinglong Sect, their numbers are likely limited. Thus, even with the guest scholars from Yang family stepping in, without the Primordial Sovereign, their chances of victory remain slim. Zhang Yuanqing said, "Don't worry. Mature Star Officials always find ways. I'll secure reinforcements for you." Seeing that he didn't elaborate further, everyone wisely held their questions. Suddenly, Sun Miao Miao remarked, "Did you forget the Grand Advisor? Though he can't leave the Tianji Pavilion, he can dispatch the Yin Corps and Spirit Servants." Facing the glances from his teammates, Zhang Yuanqing smiled and said, "The Grand Advisor is currently in an unstable condition and cannot fully engage. He is an Eighth-Rank Sovereign, but under current constraints, he can only exert the strength of a Seventh-Rank Sovereign. A Seventh-Rank Sovereign can command no more than two Sovereign-level Yin Corps and Spirit Servants. 'Segment Master alone can handle that.' Sun Miao Miao raised a question: "Segment Master is a Fire Master—how will he manage the Spirit Serv A genuine cultivator is certainly stronger than a spiritual servant, but the Fire Master lacks an effective means to attack the spiritual servants. Zhang Yuanqing smiled and said, "The Star Official does his work—don't ask me." Jiang Jingwei tilted her head, pondering for a while, "If the Grand Abbot chooses to control the spiritual servants at the Saint Realm level, wouldn't there be a large number of them?" Hong Ji Ge sighed, "That would be even better—Master Duan could single-handedly defeat the entire field." This clearly shows that Hong Ji Ge has a higher intelligence than Jingwei. Jingwei's Fire Master purity surpasses that of Hong Ji Ge. No wonder she is the daughter of the current Fire God. Then, the group discussed the battle strategy in detail, and once finalized, Xiao Yuan turned to her lover and asked, "How long have you been staying at the Tianji Building? What have you observed?" Zhang Yuanqing stroked his chin, "I have two hypotheses. First, the Grand Abbot is refining the shadow corpses. The shadow corpses with combat power reaching the ninth level require the nation's fortune (Dragon Qi) to stabilize and control them." Secondly, the State Master is pursuing promotion by taking an unconventional path, attempting to transform himself into a powerful yin entity. However, for the Golden Sun to become yin would be like playing with fire—self-destructive—so he requires dragon energy to balance yin and yang. "I am unable to reach the State Master's meditation site, but based on my understanding of the Night-Wanderer Deity, it should be the latter." Zhang Yuanqing spoke with confidence. "The Night-Wanderer Deity aims to control a yin corpse stronger than himself, which is extremely challenging. Even when Zhao City God was still at the Transcendent Realm level, he managed to control a fourth-tier yin corpse—already a notable achievement. The Transcendent Realm is merely the initial stage of the spiritual journey, and achieving this level of control is already difficult. To control a yin corpse at the Sovereign level, which is far beyond the initial stage, is even more so. At the Sovereign level, rank is absolute. Fighting or defeating an opponent at a higher rank is nearly impossible; defeating one at a higher rank is practically beyond the realm of possibility. The Many-Store Deity, who is renowned for his abundance, himself Sun Miaomiao nodded repeatedly: "I think the same way. I can't recall that, upon advancing from eighth to ninth rank, any additional dragon energy support is required. The Grand High Priest must have taken a path quite different from the traditional Day-You-Shen route—he's likely transformed himself into a monster, just like Lady Yin Yao." "Let's discuss the Grand High Priest's matter later," said Zhang Yuanqing with earnestness. "Before we take action, no one should leave the estate—this will prevent the Grand High Priest from dispatching assassins to eliminate us one by one. We should also remain vigilant for the possibility of a surprise attack from the Zheng family on the Yang estate." "Who knows if the thieves won't learn from me? Even now, both the Grand High Priest and the Zheng family are aiming for stability." Then he turned to Jiang Jingwei: "Jingwei, you're an exception. Come with me." The coachman respectfully took the oval, solid gold imperial plaque and hurriedly dismounted, rushing toward the main gates of the Marquis's residence. The gatekeeper came forward upon hearing the sound, listened to the coachman's account, glanced at the carriage, and swiftly closed the door before returning to report. After about a minute, Zhao Kai, stout and well-fleshed, emerged alone from the estate. "Your Majesty?" Zhao Kai stood outside the carriage, speaking softly in inquiry. "Uncle, let's go inside and talk," Zhang Yuancheng replied calmly. With swift movements, the plump Zhao Kai climbed onto the carriage and settled into the cabin, where he indeed saw the lifeless body that the Emperor had manipulated the previous day, as well as a young woman he had never seen before. The wheels rolled steadily as the carriage entered the main road and moved forward at a steady pace. Zhang Yuancheng introduced, "Uncle, this is Chu Beauty, one of the imperial ladies." Wasn't she the young woman from the hunting estate that the Emperor brought back during his autumn hunt? Zhao Kai gave a slight nod to Jiang Jingwei. As a marquis, his status was high, and he did not need to flatter Zhang Yuanqing changed course abruptly: "She is also an assassin assigned to me by the Shen Rui Army." Zhao Kai's delicate, plump cheeks instantly swelled with emotion. "Don't worry," Zhang Yuanqing said with a touch of pride, his tone coming through the small speaker, "after a series of intimate moments with me, Chu Meiren has completely fallen in love with me. It was precisely her brave rescue that allowed me to escape the palace during Zheng Wenhan's assassination attempt. Now, I intend to take you to meet the remnants of the Shen Rui Army and bring them under my own command." Zhao Kai's expression instantly grew serious, his brows furrowed tightly. Jiang Jingwei, curious, asked, "What exactly is meant by 'a series of intimate moments'?" Zhang Yuanqing glanced at her sideways. "Go check your computer yourself." Jiang Jingwei nodded, then turned and set the matter aside—she simply couldn't manage to check her computer, no matter how much it related to studying. Compared to that, nothing about the game quests held her interest. Jiang Jingwei suddenly had an idea, furrowing her elegant brows: "But I don't know where the Shenrui Army is stationed." "Your village is a secret base of the Shenrui Army. After you entered the palace, your father left the village, but his departure was merely a ruse to deceive the court. There are still other Shenrui Army members hidden within the village, constantly monitoring your empty household—this is what I observed recently through my spiritual servant." Zhang Yuanqing explained. Seeing that Jiang Jingwei still didn't grasp it, he gently hinted: "Have you forgotten your own mission?" Only then did Jiang Jingwei remember that Chu's primary mission was to monitor Zhao Shun's movements and report regularly to the Shenrui Army. In the memories she inherited, there was no method of communication with the Shenrui Army—so how could she report back? Given Chu's identity, the answer was clear: go home. Since there were Shenrui Army members living in the village, whenever she returned, they would naturally take notice. Jiang Jingwei looked deeply impressed: "You're truly remarkable." At that moment, Zhao Kai, after long contemplation, asked, "How confident is the Emperor?" Zhang Yuancheng didn't give a direct answer, but smiled and said, "The Shen Rui Army is a bold and resolute force—like tigers and wolves—driven by unwavering determination. Even after more than a decade, they still harbor a strong desire to avenge themselves against the Emperor. This clearly shows the weight of General Wu Xin in their hearts. "As long as you faithfully convey the events of the past, they may not necessarily abandon their quest for vengeance against me, but they will certainly direct their initial attacks squarely at Zheng Wenhuan." Zhao Kai thought it over and nodded in agreement: "Indeed, that makes sense..." Suddenly, his expression stiffened. Blood flowed freely from his eyes, nostrils, lips, and ears, and his pupils instantly widened. "Thud!" Zhao Kai leaned to one side and collapsed in the carriage, dying right before Zhang Yuancheng and Jiang Jingwei. "What?" Jiang Jingwei stared in astonishment: "He's dead?" Zhang Yuancheng's face grew grave. ... The Tianji Building The Grand Strategist picked up a black piece, sealing off the white pieces' prospects. He didn't retrieve any pieces but folded his hands back into his sleeves, speaking calmly: "Your Majesty has lost. After three days of instruction, you've produced a mere novice—no natural talent for the game." Zhang Yuancheng stared coldly at the Grand Strategist, seated like a sage from another world, and said firmly: "I did not know the Grand Strategist was also skilled in the art of curse-based attacks." The Grand Strategist remained expressionless: "It's merely external force." Zhang Yuancheng swept his hand across the board, shattering it, and said coldly: "I am done. No need for a farewell." Moreover, since the Master of State's incantation has slain Zhao Kai, it means he has already discerned our plans." Yin Shi Zhang Yuanqing spoke calmly. "Our plans will proceed as scheduled—we have no choice.